It Was A Wonderful Poem He Compiled Just One Day Before He Suffered A Heart Attack. He Survived The Ordeal And Is Still Living And Has Change In His Pocket.
For Me However I Would Rather Measure My Life On Earth With Dimes. In Tenths Or Decades, Upon Looking Back I Can Recall Some Wonderful Moments In Time, Along With Sad Ones Too.
My First Dime Was Spent Growing Up On Franklin Street. The House Directly Across From Franklin Grade School Where I First Learned My ABC's And 123's. Growing Up With That First Dime Was Special Because I Was Living With My Hero. So Many Young Boys Wanted To Grow Up To Be Firemen Or Policemen. My Father Was A Fireman. A Perfect Role Model For A Boy Growing Up In A Small Midwestern Town In Illinois. October Of Every Year Was Fire Prevention Month. Teachers Would Show And Demonstrate Fire Safety. They Would Conduct Fire Drills And Show You How To Evacuate A Building In An Orderly Fashion. The Final Drill Of That Month The Fire Department Would Be Present To Observe The Evacuation Of Students. I Always Hoped That Final Drill Would Bring My Father To The School That Day. It Did And That Was Far Better Than Any Show And Tell Day I Ever Had.
The Second Dime Was Spent On Growing Pains(Girls) And Baseball. 1967 Had Always Stood Out Because It Represented Something I Have Clung Onto For Years To Come. My Last Year Of Little League Baseball (1967), Was Also The Very Same Year I Met The Girl Of My Dreams. At The Time I Wasn't Aware Of It, But One Day I Would Come To Realize It. I Had A Rather Tall And Slender Body. The Perfect Size For The last Year On The Little League Diamond. Looking Back Years Later It Was A Moment In Time My Father Would Be As Proud Of Me In My Second Dime Of My Life As I Was Of Him In My First. My Second Dime Was Spent Growing Up In The Days Of The Hippies And The Flower Child. The Viet Nam War, The Civil Rights Movements And The Assassination Of Robert Kennedy And Martin Luther King Jr. The Peace Sign Was Everywhere. We All Hoped For It But Still Not Sure If We Ever Achieved It.
I Hated School And Considered It A Waste Of My Time As Well As The School Having Me Sit In Their Seats. My Father Gave Me The Choice To Either Buckle Down And Attend School As Required Or Join One Of The Armed Services. My Older Brother Already Had Left Home And Was Presently Serving Aboard A Ship Based In California. The Results Of My Decision Came In The Early Months Of 1973. Uncle Sam's Canoe Club Sent Me To Nantucket Island For A Period Of Two Years. Actually I Was Far Too Young To Appreciate Where I Was During That Two Year Stint. Even The Thought Of The Island Today Always Bring A Smile To My Face. My Son Was Born There. The Kennedy Name Was Everywhere You Looked. That Two Years Moved Along Swiftly And I Returned Back To My Roots Of Danville Illinois.
It Was In The Early Months Of My Third Dime Of Life When I Became A Civilian. I Landed A Job That Fulfilled My Life. Transportation For The Seniors Was More Of A Pleasure Than That Of A Job. I Always Considered Myself As A People Person. This Job Allowed Me To Interact With Clients As Well As Others Who Were Fulfilling The Same Mission As I Was, Helping People.
Life Between The Second And Third Dime I Consider The Rockiest. Lot's Of Up's And Down's In Life. The Good Things In Life Came When My Daughter Was Born. Shortly Afterwards My Son Was Born. I Consider That Dime Well Spent. The Children Were Young While I Was Working In Sales Management. I Began Having Medical Issues. Not Knowing Which Direction God Would Lead Me. My Doctor Scheduled A Battery Of Test, Which Would Show Right Off I Had TB. Tuberculosis Was The Least Of My Worries. Something Much Larger Was Going On. The Final Test Results Indicated I Had Epilepsy. A Treatable Condition That I Would Have To Live With And Eventually Accept As Part Of My Future In Life. I Refused To Allow It To Defeat My Passion For Life.
One Year Into My Fourth Dime I Was Determined To Create A Pathway That I Would Find Rewarding Within My Soul. After Bankruptcy And Looming Through The Darkness Of Poverty I Was Determined Not To Let It Defeat Me. Realizing There Must Be Others Who Are Like Me. I Found It Stimulating By Helping Those Who Also Were Struggling With Every Day Issues. It Was A Beginning Of Larger Things To Come. I Just Didn't See It Until Years Later.
In The Meantime I Would Help As Many As I Could Without Questioning Their Need. As Long As My Health Would Allow It I Would Continue My Mission To Help Those Living In Poverty. I Spent My Fourth And Fifth Dime Determined To Make A Difference In People's Lives.
Today As I Hold Onto My Sixth Dime I Still Have Much To Accomplish. I Find My Duties More Challenging As The Dimes Add Up. Still Determined By Trying To Maintain Good Health So My Mission Can Continue For Years To Come. It Was My Hopes My Son Would Eventually Take Over And Continue The Good. Those Dreams Were Shattered When He Passed Away In 2010.
I May Have To Wait A Few Years Longer To Pass That Torch To An Even Younger Generation. My Grandson Has Shown Interest In The Work That I Do. The Summer Of 2012 He Rode Along Side Me And Was Able To See First Hand How Many Lives Are Touched By The Work God Challenged Me To Do.
At This Moment I Am Preparing For A New Season. Each Year I Find Different And Challenging. No Two Years Are Alike. So Many Families In Need. This Sixth Dime That I Hold Represents Life Is Still Moving Forward. More Work To Be Done. Yet I Cannot Lose Focus Of What Life Has To Offer. Family And Friends Are The Most Important, Surrounded By The Strength Of God's Leadership I Will Continue The Path Of Life. I Still Have More Dimes To Spend.
It Doesn't Matter How You Measure Your Life. You Can Do It In Years, Quarters Or Dimes. It's A Matter Of How They Are Spent That Really Matter. Treat Each Day As If It Were Your Last.
One Day You Will Be Looking Back At All The Dimes You Spent. Hopefully You Can Say You Got Your Money's Worth.
The Answer Is Love. Surround Yourself With Those Who Matter Most In Life. Let Them Know What A Difference They Made in Your Life. If You Can't Bring Yourself To Tell Them, Then Show Them. Those Three Little Words 'I Love You' Seem Difficult For Many To Say. When You Begin To Run Out Of Dimes Try Not To Have Any Regrets. There Is Nothing You Can Do About Yesterday. Today's Dime And The Dimes You Spend In The Future Matter The Most. Spend Them Wisely.
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